How to Become a Guide for ChaCha
ChaCha is a rapidly growing company that answers questions that people send in on their cell phones. The company has tens of thousands of "guides" who find the answers, and the company is always hiring more. This can be a great experience for someone who loves to surf the Internet. The pay isn't great, but the work is a blast, and you can do as much or as little of it as you want, at any time of the day or night. Here are a few guidelines to help you pursue this promising opportunity.
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Instructions
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Go to the ChaCha website, and click on the link for "Become a Guide."
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Fill out the short application form. Use regular English, not text-messaging abbreviations. If all goes well at this phase, you will receive an invitation in your email to take the tests to become a guide.
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Take the general tests. There are three general tests: general problem solving abilities, typing and research ability. ChaCha recommends that you take them all at the same time. In the invitation email, and during the registration process, ChaCha will recommend that you read various documents. It is very important that you read them all. Not only are many of the questions on the tests based on the reading, but the information that you read will be a huge help when you start the actual job. If you pass the general tests, then you can go on and take the Simulator Test.
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In the Simulator Test, answer questions as if they were real questions from a ChaCha customer.
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If you pass the Simulator Test, then you can start working as a guide. You will probably have many questions. Consult the Forums and the KnowledgeBase for helpful tips and information.
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Tips & Warnings
You do not have to answer abusive questions. However, there are questions that some people will find offensive or annoying, but that the company considers legitimate queries. You will, for example, be asked for racist jokes and for sexually explicit information. You will get questions from people who want to see if they can stump you, and you will get inane queries from bored teenagers. You can always opt out of answering any particular question, but if you do that too often, it will hurt your chances of becoming a higher-paid "Top Guide." So it helps to be able to tolerate different kinds of questions, and to be willing to learn which you need to answer in a straightforward way, and which you can deflect with humor.
ChaCha hires you as an independent contractor, not as an employee. That means that you will have to pay a self-employment tax when you file your federal income tax forms.
